Sincerest kudos are in order for Andy Dalton.
Engineering a touchdown drive on the Bears’ first possession is one thing. But to suffer an injury, then try to gut it out for another series before ultimately being pulled from the lineup should garner some respect points. Dalton’s job is an unenviable one. So to see him attempt to gut it out in front of the home folks should buy him some good-will among the fan base.
But now, the question exists when we’ll see Dalton again. There is minimum clarity surrounding the injury that put him out of action on Sunday, but NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport sorts through things best he can:
From @GMFB: A closer look at the #Bears QB situation now that Andy Dalton has injured his knee. pic.twitter.com/InmvzH7UIj
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 20, 2021
For those who can’t listen to Rapoport, here is a snippet:
“From what I understand, when they did the manual test on the knee, it was pretty strong and sound. Bone bruise is one possibility that has been brought up to me. If that is in fact what it is, then obviously next week’s game will be a little bit difficult for Andy Dalton.”
UPDATE — Some more positive news:
More on #Bears QB Andy Dalton: The initial exams did show no ACL tear and no damage to the MCL, source said. MRI today, but the early diagnosis of bone bruise would show he dodged major injury. That would be good news considering what it looked like at first glance.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 20, 2021
UPDATE II — Sources confirm to Rapoport it’s a bone bruise:
Sources: #Bears QB Andy Dalton had his MRI and it confirmed a bone bruise in his knee. No official determination has been made about his status this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 20, 2021
It doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet now that we’ve got some clarity on this situation. We won’t get an injury report until Wednesday afternoon. And because the NFL has decreased the number of times a head coach must speak to the assembled media per week, we won’t likely hear from Nagy again until Thursday. In the meantime, the rest of our earlier post is below.
I suppose the best news to emerge in this situation is that early tests show this is not an ACL injury. That type of knee injury would have put Dalton out for the rest of this year. And as we’re learning by following ACL injuries around the league, there is no one set timetable for a recovery and return. The Bears will do more tests today on Dalton, but it sounds like they are confidently crossing ACL injury off their list of concerns. That’s good when we can essentially push the worst-case scenario out of the realm of possibilities. It’s not like dealing with a bone bruise is a walk in the park. However, it’s better than the alternative and we shouldn’t lose sight of that in this moment.
Moving forward, Dalton’s health will obviously play a role in who starts this week and the foreseeable future. A bone bruise could be a day-to-day thing. Or it could be week-to-week. But after not pushing Dalton back into Sunday’s game, I feel as if the message is clear — there is no reason to rush Dalton back into game action. Bold emphasis mine, of course. But it had to be said. Even if this now has the potential to open up a can of worms.
Consider this: There was always going to be a point when the Bears would turn to Justin Fields full time. And heading into Sunday’s game, there was an expectation that Fields would get an increase in snaps after his five-play cameo in Week 1. Before Sunday’s game, Rapoport was reporting: “There are ‘wow’ moments, ‘wow’ throws, every single day in practice. He’s actually coming on faster than expected. They are essentially head-over-heels in love with him.”
Again, the move to Fields was starting to feel inevitable when stuff like this comes out. It was only a matter of time, right? Just as it’s just a matter of time until the Bears give the keys to their 2021 first-round pick. Although, I doubt the Bears wanted it to go down like this.
With that in mind, there is a possibility that the Bears turn to Fields and don’t look back. And that’s even if Dalton gets a clean bill of health. But it’s way too early to take that leap right now. So we’ll monitor this situation and provide updates as necessary. Because while starting Monday riding the vibes of a home win, Fields-Dalton watch will be the storyline of the week.